"The top four teams all had over 30 pounds in the 100% Bass team tournament this Sunday," reported Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle. "It sounds like most of the top teams caught their fish up north on topwater baits. I also heard one of the big limits was caught down south on crankbaits and jigs."

According to Higgins, buzzbaits and frogs were the hot ticket for big fish up on the north end. "The water temperature is still pretty warm and that topwater bite is the way to go for big fish right now," he said.

Live bait fishermen have been scoring on good numbers of largemouth at Clear Lake. "The minnow bite is really starting to pick up now," said Higgins. "I've had reports of guys catching 20 fish a day on jumbo minnows. It sounds like the bite has been good all over the lake for the minnow fishermen."

"I fished two team tournaments this weekend and took second place on Saturday and fourth place on Sunday," reported Mikie Nunnally of Outdoor Pro Shop in Rohnert Park. "I fished with Steve Seals on Saturday and we had a five fish limit for just under 25 pounds. On Sunday, I fished with Phil Leazer and we had a seven fish limit for over 30 pounds."

Nunnally said they caught the majority of their fish on a small stretch of bank at the north end of the lake. "We found the fish on Saturday and loaded the boat with buzzbaits," he explained. "We knew they were there on Sunday, so we stuck in that area all day long and caught fish on buzzbaits, crankbaits and frogs."

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"We had a pretty good swell this weekend and that really limits where we can target shallow water," reported Rick Thornton of Anchor Charters. "We ended up fishing off Mendocino yesterday and caught full limits for 7 people."

According to Thornton, the catch has been mainly blue rockfish running 2 to 5 pounds along with a mix of black and yellowtail rockfish. "We were drifting Super Flies in 90 feet of water most of the day," he said. "Crab season opens for us on December 1, so we'll start running crab/rockfish combination trips at that time."

The last day before the deep water closure went into effect, Thornton said they enjoyed a wide open bite off the Mendocino Coast. "We went out and caught some sanddabs to use for live bait and the lingcod were hammering them," said Thornton. "We ended up with full limits of lings to 22 pounds for our six passengers and limits of rockfish. It was a great way to end the lingcod season."

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"Not many anglers are fishing in Rogue River Bay anymore, since they have begun to move upriver with the salmon," reported Heather from Jot's Resort. "Anglers fishing from in front of Jot's to Agness are experiencing a steady bite on quality salmon averaging 30 pounds."

The most success is going to anglers using spinner baits with green or red blades, according to Heather. "A few fish are also hitting Hot Shots and roe," added Heather.

"Salmon fishing on the Rogue River is beginning to slow as the fish move upriver," confirmed Mike Hoefer from Rogue Sportfishing Unlimited. "The fishing was productive after the recent rain, but we also got some wind with the rain, which blew a lot of anglers around on the water."

"I expect that within two or three weeks, most anglers will be fishing on the Chetco or Elk/Sixes rivers, where we can expect to see some large chinooks caught," noted Hoefer.

"I am hoping for another good rain to move the fish further upriver into the Chetco River," reported Justin Storms of Rogue Outdoor Store. "On the Rogue River, the mouth of Indian Creek is kicking out some large chinooks for persistent anglers back bouncing roe or fly fishing."

"The lower 10 miles of the Chetco from the Icebox down river is full of fish and we expect salmon fishing to improve with the next rain," explained Guide Gary Klein. "We have been nailing the salmon while by throwing out roe or chartreuse and chrome Kwikfish."

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"At the present time, salmon fishing is starting to wind down as they are getting pretty dark with only an occasional bright salmon landed," reported fishing guide E.B. Duggan. "On the other hand, the steelhead fishing is starting to pick up for adult fish. I've noticed a lot of adult steelhead following the large hen salmon waiting for them to lay their eggs."

According to Duggan, salmon are still hitting best on tuna balls and roe. "A few salmon have been caught on #4 spinners or large spoons in silver or gold," he added. "Steelhead are taking roe, 1/2 a nightcrawler or a #3 spinner or spoon. For the drift boat angler, back trolling a Wiggle Wart or Hot Shot is starting to pay off. Because the river is so low, the trick is to get your baits down deep into the deeper holes."

"There's a lot of dark fish in the river right now, but we're still seeing a few bright salmon," reported Tim King of King's Guide Service. "The flows are down to 300 cfs and we really need some rain to get the steelhead bite going."

King said the steelhead fishing has been fair and should improve over the next couple weeks. "If you put in a hard day, you should be able to catch one or two adult fish," he explained. "There's a fair amount of steelhead in the river now, but a little rain would really help bring more fish into the system."

At press time, releases into the Trinity at Lewiston were 300 cfs. Trinity Lake is currently 83 feet below the overflow and 54% of capacity.

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"Our anglers, Russ, Art and Dennis, had pretty good action on white seabass on my last trip," said Joe Stoops of Chartle Sportfishing. "They boated 3 seabass to 28 pounds and released a 27 pounder using squid at varied depths in 100 feet of water 7 miles west of Santa Cruz. At 11 am, we switched to rockfish and boated 20 blacks and gophers for fish and chips. The conditions were foggy and calm."

On a previous trip, Stoops' customers boated 7 halibut to 23 pounds. They fished the Davenport area in 55-60 feet water with live squid.

John and Glen Larson landed four white seabass weighing 35, 30, 30 and 25 pounds on Sunday, November 4. They fooled the fish with live squid off Moss Landing, according to Frank Ealy at Capitola Boat and Bait. Bill Leitelt topped the catches with a 54 pound white seabass that he caught drifting frozen squid in 100 feet of water off Capitola.

"The warm water seems to be melting away more each day, resulting in an end to the albacore fishing," according to Mike Baxter, captain of the Wild Wave. "The warm water is now around 80 to 90 miles away and has had no sign of fish in it. We had a great albacore season. The fish showed up June 22 and we had a very consistent season up until a week and a half ago."

"The groundswell came up on Saturday and the anglers aboard the Wild Wave averaged 5 rockfish fish per rod while fishing near Davenport, " added Baxter. "We will be fishing in 120 feet of water or less due to the regulations. We were catching big black, olive, bolina and gopher rockfish before the swell came up."

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"Anglers fishing Baum at the Hat Creek #1 Powerhouse are catching good numbers of rainbows, including a few in the 18 to 20 inch class, while tossing out nightcrawlers, Panther Martins and Rooster Tail spinners," revealed Gene Rodgers at Vaughn's Sporting Goods. "The fly fishermen are also experiencing solid action using Callibaetis Cripples, pale morning duns and pheasant tail nymphs in sizes #18 to 20."

Stream fishing in the Burney region will close after November 15, so you don't have much time left to fish. In the Cassel area of Hat Creek, anglers are nailing rainbow, brook and brown trout while soaking nightcrawlers and mealworms and casting spinners.

"The Pit River isn't producing numbers of fish now, but anglers have caught some large rainbows to 8 pounds while using nightcrawlers and spinners below the Pit #1 Powerhouse," noted Rodgers.

Baum Lake and Lake Britton remain open to fishing year round. Fishing pressure for smallmouth bass remained light at Britton at press time, with the best action reported on small spinners and plastics, according to Rodgers.

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"The weather has been beautiful this week and trollers are doing very well," reported Jim Pleau at Lassen View Resort. "Reuben Chavez went out for four hours early this week and he and another angler caught and released 15 fish."

According to Pleau, Chavez was trolling along the east shore between the Dorado Inn and Lake Cove Resort. "The fish were a mix of browns and rainbows running 2 to 5 pounds," said Pleau. "They were trolling a variety of baits including white trolling flies, a lone crawler and a small #5 Rapala 5 feet off the bottom in 20 to 30 feet of water. I also had a few reports of anglers doing the same thing about a half mile north of Recreation Area 2."

Bait fishermen are also finding a fair amount of action while soaking nightcrawlers and salmon roe. "The top spots for bait fishing have been Recreation Area 2 a foot off the bottom in 30 to 32 feet of water," said Pleau. "I also had a few reports of fish being caught at the dam."

For bank fishermen, Pleau suggested anglers fish the Big Springs area and the Almanor Jetties. Inflated crawlers and Power Bait are the top getters.

Lake Almanor is approximately 21 feet from full.

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"Most of the bass are in the 1-1/2 to 2 pound class," said McGrath. "Fishing jigs off main body points is your best bet now. Small football head jigs in brown/orange, brown/red and brown/black are yielding the top action. Tip the jigs with Yamamoto Grubs in the same colors."

The bass are congregating on balls of shad at 30 to 100 feet deep. Drop shotting with plastics, is also on the upswing. McGrath recommended using Zipper blue shad worms, Berkley drop shotting worms and Robo Worms, including a unique bait that the store is stocking for the Bass Masters tournament at Oroville November 15-17.

"The catfish are few and far between, though the fish are decent-sized, averaging 4 to 5 pounds," added McGrath. "Anglers are averaging only 1 to 2 fish per night while fishing mackerel and other baits in Foreman Creek and Canyon Creek."

Lake Oroville is 720 feet in elevation, 180 feet from full, and the water temperature has dropped to 66 degrees.

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"We continue to see improving striper and sturgeon action in Suisun Bay," explained Captain Barry Canevaro of The Fish Hookers Sportfishing. "I have seen many limits of striped bass taken out of Middle Grounds and near Seal Island averaging 20 pounds. The most successful baits are fresh shad and bullheads."

"The rain has improved striper fishing in Suisun Bay, but we still need another good rain to flush out the crabs to improve sturgeon fishing conditions," said Canevaro. "Along with flushing out crabs, we should also receive a fresh run of bigger stripers coming through the area."

"I moved my boat back to Pittsburg on November 1 in order to start fishing for stripers and sturgeon on the Delta," reported Captain Mark Delnero of Fin Addict Sportfishing.

"During my transition from Richmond, I stopped at Seal Island and hooked into some striped bass averaging 7 pounds while using bullheads."

On Sunday, November 4, Larry Frey and Dave Galindo from Lodi ventured out with Delnero aboard the Childs Play to fish Middle Grounds on the Delta for striped bass and some sturgeon.

"We had the best action fishing the outgoing tide with bullheads and eel," said Delnero. Mark reported one striper weighing 9 pounds and a 47 inch sturgeon in the boat at the end of the outgoing tide.

"We are getting into the incoming tide now, and so far we don't have any fish. The tides have been fairly crucial when dealing with the sturgeon," noted Delnero at press time.

For a complete Delta Report, click here.

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"There are a lot of trout at Pine Flat, and the fish are starting to hit," said Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun. "It's been a while since the action was good, but now things are really taking off."

The bows are holding from the surface down to about the 25 foot level. Trollers are using night crawlers behind blades, Cop Car Needlefish, and Wedding Rings with crawlers to pick up 4 to 5 fish per outing. The trout are running between 12 and 17 inches. The Windy Gap channel and the deep-water channel in front of the dam have been the hot spots.

Bank anglers are finding good action around Lombardo's and near the Deer Creek outlet, according to Gilbert. Rainbow Power Bait has been the number 1 choice, followed by night crawlers and pink Power Bait. The hot action is taking place at about 50 feet offshore.

"Spotted bass fishermen are finding excellent action around Sycamore Creek and near the main body points," stated Gilbert. "The fish are holding from the bottom to about 10 feet down in water 15 to 30 feet deep."

Plastics and night crawlers fool 10 to 15 fish per outing, almost all falling in the slot limit range. A few bass in the 3 to 4 pound class have been caught. Hot colors are still watermelon/pepper or chartreuse. Reaction baits are working during the early morning hours.

"Catfish anglers are finding 1 to 2 pound fish around Deer Creek and Sycamore Creek," added Gilbert. "Chicken livers or stink baits are fooling 2 to 4 fish per outing."

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"The North Fork of the Stanislaus River is currently flowing low and clear, creating good fishing conditions for fly casters and light tackle lure tossers," reported Marla Tallant of Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods. "Anglers are finding success using dry flies, Prince Nymphs, and gold Panther Martins."

"Water levels are running fairly low in the upper lakes and rivers, but it has turned the action in favor of the fly fishermen," said Tallant. Lake Alpine is still open, but the lake level is low and small boats are recommended for current launching conditions.

"Bait anglers are using Power Bait and worms, while lure anglers are throwing out small chrome and blue Kastmasters or Wooly Buggers to land quality trout averaging 12 inches," said Tallant. "Several fish weighing 4 pounds have also been taken."

"Several limits of trout averaging 12 inches have been caught at White Pines Lake," said Tallant. The most successful baits are Power Bait or a worm on a three foot leader.

For Wiza's Tahoe area report, CLICK HERE.

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"Flows on the lower Owens have crashed to 150cfs. and the fishing for browns and rainbows is excellent in all areas," stated Tom Loe of the Sierra Drifters. "The mornings have cooled down to the upper 20's."

Nymphing has been best in the wild trout area using small #20 black midge patterns. Use a small strike indicator and 6x fluorocarbon for best results.

"You will also find action on the surface in the back eddies on caddis and mayfly imitations late afternoon or if the clouds appear," stated Loe. "Several types and sizes of both insects are coming off, so have a variety of both in sizes 16-20. Some spinners are being seen late day. We have had some excellent fishing while pulling streamers in olive and natural #8-10 with a moderate sink tip along the undercuts."

At Pleasant Valley Reservoir, the powerhouse is not generating at this time. There may be occasional "pulses" of increased flows leading into the reservoir at times, but they should be only temporary, according to Loe.

"Fishing has been very good for smaller fish on both dries and midge larva #16-18," stated Loe.

"The reservoir is very high, but the level is now dropping so there is limited area along the river at this time for fly fishers."

Alpers rainbows trout have been recently planted, so float tubers pulling streamers should have a good time when trolling full or heavy sink tip line and olive, black, steamers with a tad of crystal flash and red in the patterns, added Loe.

For the SouthEast Sierras Report, click here.

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"The weather is cooling down now and some of the shallow water areas are starting to turn on," reported Carla Molino at the Pyramid Lake Store. "Of course there's still a lot of fish out deep, so the trollers are doing very well."

For trollers, anglers have been fishing all over the entire lake. "Most of the fishermen have been targeting the deeper water areas, but we started getting some good reports from the Nets during the past few days," said Molino. "The top lures have been Flatfish and Apexes."

Bank fishermen have been finding success at the Blockhouse, Wino Beach, the Nets and the Cattleguard. "Fly fishermen are doing best with wooly buggers in olive, chartreuse and green," said Molino. "The best lures have been Panther Martins, Roostertails, Tor-P-Do's and Blue Fox spinners."

Big fish honors go to Gerald Sezigny, who bagged a 9 pound, 6 ounce cutthroat while trolling on October 26. Mike Skow released an 8 pounder he landed while trolling with guide George Molino. The fish fell for a rainbow Apex in the Pelican Point area.

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"The salmon bite has been hit and miss this week, but we're seeing huge fish over 40 pounds every day," reported Frank Salazar of Emeryville Sportfishing. "The rockfish trips are now targeting shallow water at the Farallons and the bite has been very good."

On Saturday, November 3 the C-Gull II checked in with 15 full limits of rockfish while drifting shallow water at the Farallons. The New Huck Finn also targeted rockfish at the Farallons and they brought in a total of 176 rockfish for 22 people.

The salmon boats have been taking up to a fish per rod on most days while trolling and mooching off Duxbury. The New Salmon Queen checked in with 11 salmon to a whopping 43 pounds and a 7 pound barracuda for 23 anglers. The Rapid Transit bagged 11 salmon up to 45 pounds for 10 people and the New Seeker brought in 2 salmon to 26 pounds for 13 people.

The Captain Hook was the only boat fishing inside the bay and they landed limits of striped bass to 15 pounds for 27 anglers. They were drifting live bait in the north bay.